S.F. opera will probe rape claim

Shockwaves continue to reverberate over the claim opera star David Daniels drugged and raped up-and-coming baritone Samuel Schultz in 2010.

The San Francisco Opera said Thursday it was reviewing the allegations amid its casting of Daniels in its 2019 production of Handel’s Baroque opera “Orlando.”

“I can confirm that we are aware of the news story and that we are looking into the matter,” San Francisco Opera spokesman Jon Finck told the Daily News in an email Thursday.

Minutes later, the organization released a formal statement saying it was pursuing an investigation.

“While the reported incident from 2010 did not occur at San Francisco Opera, the Company is taking this very seriously and is independently looking into the matter,” the statement obtained by The News read.

“San Francisco Opera is committed to its strong antisexual harassment policy and requires all company members to adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct.

“San Francisco Opera places a great priority in creating a safe and secure environment where everyone can focus on their work and art, and in which colleagues are treated with respect, dignity and collegiality.”

Daniels, 52, is also set to perform the role of Hamor in Boston Baroque’s March 2019 production of Handel’s “Jephtha.”

Boston Baroque did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The News.

As The News first reported on Wednesday, Daniels is facing an active police investigation related to Schultz’s claims.

In an exclusive first interview with The News, Schultz said he was drugged and raped by Daniels, one of the world’s most famous countertenors, and Daniels’ partner Scott Walters, who is now his husband.

Schultz, 32, said the couple invited him to their corporate apartment following a performance in Houston in 2010 and gave him a drink — and that he blacked out and awoke hours later, disoriented and bleeding from the rectum.